BECOMING BUSINESS WISE

THIS week, as I was preparing to leave my house for a meeting, I received a phone call from a lady based in Abuja, who decided to reach me after reading one of my articles on entrepreneurship.

Take the first step. A Chinese proverb says, “a journey of 10,000 miles begins with a step.” The lady wanted to come to my office to, in her own words, “discuss some challenges that I am facing in my business and personal life with you.” She took the first step by calling me, and that decision paid off.

Make that call. You may be three calls away from getting a positive response to your proposal or request. Keep doing things that will draw you closer towards achieving your goal, and never quit. Someone somewhere has a solution for you.

Seek expert advice. There was a time I almost got lost, save for the fact that I asked a young man for the address I was looking for, and he took me there himself. I wanted to visit a friend for the first time. In your business and personal life, you may need the services of a life coach for direction.

Beginning is associated with hardship. The lady established a business, which failed after barely a year. She wanted to start the business again, but she felt she needed expert advice. I told her the beginning of a new thing is usually associated with confusion, until you eventually learn the ropes.

Learn from the school of life. I told the lady that life is a teacher, and the day you will graduate from the school of life is when you die. I encouraged her to learn good lessons from her bad experience. It is not bad to fail in business, if only, you will learn to pick yourself up and try again.

Set the proper foundation. “In everything you do in life,” I told the young lady, “the foundation is very important.” It is not wise to use sophisticated building materials to build a house if the foundation is bad, because the house will eventually crumble.

Be patient. In this jet age, it is important to gain speed in what you are doing, provided you are not in a hurry. I counseled the lady to bounce back to her business and be ready to set the proper foundation for her business.

Plan your work. Before building a house, there has to be a plan designed by an architect. Building a successful business is like building a house. You will need a plan, in this case, a business plan.
Planning is winning. A carpenter’s adage says, “measure twice, cut once.” This means that a minute spent in planning may be worth two minutes in execution. You have to act on your business plan.

Give yourself room to fail. Be realistic. You will always meet challenges. You ability to stay put, and overcome your challenges is what makes you an entrepreneur. Don’t wish you wouldn’t fall. Instead, wish that you will stand up, dust your body and move on, after falling.

Develop your financial intelligence. Money is very important in succeeding in business because of its purchasing power. The first step to developing your financial intelligence is to spend less than you earn, because expenses will always rise to meet income.

Keep records. Deola, the girl online with me, told me that her major challenge in business then, was that of mismanagement. She sold some expensive fabrics on credit, and some of the customers paid their debts in installments, which made it hard for her to gather the fund. I told her the importance of getting an accountant, and the importance of keeping financial records.

Agbolade OmowoleAgbolade Omowole runs Interpersonal Skills Trainings for corporate organizations. He trains for Terry E. Gillen, Institute of Personnel and Development UK. He is also a financial adviser at Aims Asset Management Limited.

Contact:
E-mail: nigeriaslifecoach@gmail.com
Mobile phone: 08020777803 (+248020777803)
Blog: http://www.101youngentrepreneurs.blogspot.com/

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